Old-fashioned cottage cheese is a rarity, but still exists

CHEESE27_015_RAD.jpg
For the Cheese Course column: Nancy's lowfat cottage cheese. The white container is conventional lowfat cottage cheese; the blue container is organic lowfat cottage cheese.
Photo taken on 7/20/06, in San Francisco, CA.
(Katy Raddatz/The S.F.Chronicle)
** Mandatory credit for photographer and the San Francisco Chronicle/ -Mags out less

CHEESE27_015_RAD.jpg
For the Cheese Course column: Nancy's lowfat cottage cheese. The white container is conventional lowfat cottage cheese; the blue container is organic lowfat cottage cheese.
Photo taken on 7/20/06, in San Francisco, CA.
(Katy Raddatz/The S.F.Chronicle)
** Mandatory credit for photographer and the San Francisco Chronicle/ -Mags out less

Old-fashioned cottage cheese made slowly with only milk and cultures is a rarity these days, a victim of industrialization and America's fear of fat. Today, cottage cheese is made quickly, with gums and starches to stabilize it and enhance its shelf life. And virtually every manufacturer uses skim milk now because Americans have come to view cottage cheese as diet food.

It wasn't always so. Cottage cheese -- literally, cheese made in a cottage -- was prepared on the stovetop in rural homes in times past and allowed to sour and thicken slowly from the action of ambient bacteria. The curds had a tart flavor from the buildup of lactic acid, and they were bathed in a rich cream dressing. My 1953 edition of the "Joy of Cooking" instructs readers how to make cottage cheese using only whole milk and cream.

About as close as you can get to this early model is Nancy's Cultured Lowfat Cottage Cheese, made by the Springfield Creamery in Eugene, Ore. Nancy's uses skim milk, alas, but otherwise follows traditional methods. The milk is inoculated with slow-acting, flavor-producing bacterial cultures that require 14 to 16 hours to curdle the milk. The curd is cut fine, then cooked in a steam-jacketed kettle for several hours until the texture is just right, neither rubbery nor soft. Then the curds are drained of their whey and rinsed and, finally, dressed with cultured skim milk and cream.

If you are used to the bland, sweet taste and slippery texture of most American cottage cheeses, Nancy's may not win you over at first, admits Nancy Hamren, the cheese's namesake and a longtime creamery employee. "You're surprised at the tang," says Hamren, "and pretty soon you're hooked."

The curds are moderately large, uniform, creamy and tender, with a delightful buttermilk flavor. Other brands seem flavorless by comparison. For an easy summer lunch, toss Nancy's Cultured Lowfat Cottage Cheese with chopped tomato, cucumber and dill or chives, add some freshly ground black pepper and serve with crusty bread and a glass of dry rosé.